The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“MINGO JOB CORPS CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1795 on Oct. 4, 2004.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
MINGO JOB CORPS CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CENTER
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HON. JO ANN EMERSON
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Monday, October 4, 2004
Mrs. EMERSON. Mr. Speaker, the Mingo Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center was established in 1965 and is located on the southeastern corner of Mingo National Wildlife Refuge. Over 224 corps members participate in the program at Mingo at any one time. They can see daily what many people travel miles to observe on a National Wildlife Refuge. They are working to make a special effort to provide vocational work sites for training, as well as placement in permanent jobs, not just at Mingo, but on other facilities within the region.
In a residential setting, students are given the opportunity to complete their secondary education, round out their social skills, and acquire a vocational skill. Vocational training is offered in the following trades at Mingo: automotive repair, building maintenance, bricklaying, carpentry, heavy equipment operation, painting, welding, clerical, culinary arts, and health services.
With an audience of over 200 young people in residence for over a year on a National Wildlife Refuge, the Center is taking advantage of the opportunity to expose them to environmental awareness concepts in the education, vocational training, and residential living programs. The Center is a unique mix of human resources and natural resource management.
The Mingo Job Corps Center, located in Puxico, Missouri, has become a critical part of the economy in Southeast Missouri. I first want to brag on the work the Center has done and give a little background on the work they do to better the community and the lives of those they serve. The Center has been crucial in providing the young people in Southeast Missouri many opportunities that they would not otherwise have available to them. The lack of viable economic opportunities in the area is staggering, and, as a result, many people in the area have to rely on government assistance to make ends meet.
The Mingo Job Corps Center is the one place these people can go to develop the critical skills needed to enter the workforce. While some of the students at the Center are what we commonly refer to as being
``at-risk,'' the Job Corps program has allowed these young men and women to make a life for themselves and succeed. Additionally, the surrounding community has benefitted from the work of the Center because, upon graduation, the students are able to give back to the community with the skills they have learned.
Last year, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that they did not have the budget to adequately operate the Center. As a result, the Department of Labor recommended that the operations of the Center be contracted out. I completely opposed the proposal to contract out the operations at the Mingo Job Corps Center.
In response to the announcement to contract out operations Senator Bond and I introduced legislation to transfer the Mingo Center to the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service. By adding the Mingo Job Corps Center to the list of U.S. Forest Service-run facilities, we will protect the livelihood of the students and employees served by the Center and ensure that the facility will continue to be operated by an experienced and dedicated staff. Most importantly, the skilled workers who graduate from the Center will continue to add to the dedicated workforce and contribute to the health of the rural economy.
I am very proud to bring this legislation to the House of Representatives for a vote today, because it represents an important initiative in rural Missouri. Our job training programs are vital to our economic success now and in the future. Keeping the Mingo Center open and operating is a small, but important way to acknowledge our commitment to a dedicated workforce.
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